A Very Potter Wedding
by HelloBeautifulChild
Summary: When James proposed to Lily she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Not his rambunctious friends, flying motorcycles, or pranks that the Marauders never grew out of, but planning a wedding! Magical elite meets muggle middle class in this fluffy and lighthearted fic telling the story of how James and Lily got married in the midst of war. (Wednesday updates as of 9/27/18.)
1. Chapter 1

**The Proposal**

Lily Evans was a proud Hogwarts graduate, and an excited adult in the magical world. She had turned 18 only a week ago and in the six months that she had been a Hogwarts graduate Lily had gotten a flat with her friend Marlene McKinnon, secured a job making much needed potions for the Auror Department, and enjoyed a successfully deepening relationship with her boyfriend, James Potter. Throughout all of this she had been as active a member of the Order of the Pheonix, a group dedicated to defeating the dark wizard Lord Voldemort and ending the current magical war, as much as she could afford. As she sat across from James in the Leakey Cauldron she tried not to blame herself for being in such a good mood, she deserved to enjoy herself, she was sure of it.

James, for his part, was not focused on any of that. He wasn't worrying about whether or not he should be in a good mood for two reasons, one was that he never worried about those things. Work hard play hard was in his DNA and he was known to forgo sleep in favor of a late night at a pub with friends, especially after an Order mission. The second reason was that he was too _nervous_ to worry about something like that. As if the ever present bulge of a jewelry box in his pants weren't enough, his friends were being about as obvious as one could get and constantly dropping hints. Thankfully Lily, tired after a week of potions brewing, didn't appear to notice.

"Well I _propose_ ," Sirius said loudly, slamming his drink on the table and winking towards James. "That we all make our way back to the flat for some firewhiskey and the rest of Mrs. Potter's cake!"

"I too _propose_ ," Remus said with a devious smile. "That Sirius, Peter, and I go take care of the bill with Tom while you two go back to the flat."

Peter was giggling uncontrollably and James groaned, his friends were idiots. Complete and total idiots. Positively _dense_. "You do whatever you want to do," He said, standing and helping Lily out of her bar stool. "We're going to head on home."

"Yeah you are," Peter said, causing Sirius to bark with laughter.

Noticing that Lily was beginning to question the Marauder's odd exchange, Remus decided to speak up and usher the couple out of the pub. Fun and games was great and all, but they had no intention of ruining James and Lily's night. After all, it was supposed to be a rather big night for the two of them.

"Okay, okay, that was fun but Lily dear, you look like you could use a lie down," Remus said, slowly moving the two of them to the door. Once they were outside he clapped his hand on James' shoulder, "You take care of her, you hear?"

To most, Remus would sound like a concerned, but amused, friend but James knew better. Remus had been friends with Lily for years as well, and the statement meant more than 'don't let her puke on the street'. James nodded, his jaw set for a moment before he turned to grab Lily's hand. The couple walked in silence for the first little while before Lily spoke up.

"So.. I'm going to sound crazy, but are you planning to propose?" Lily asked, biting her lip nervously. She felt absolutely ridiculous for asking. They had just reached the outside of James' building and she had had to ask, the question shoving itself out of her chest. She knew what he'd say, no, but with an odd twinkle in his eye. He'd been proposing to her since she was 13, and when they had gotten together he'd taken no time to let her know how serious he was. Regardless, they were 18 and in the middle of a war. He was constantly gone on some mission or another, having worked full time for the order for about a month since he'd gotten angry with a fellow Auror and quickly quit. Still, with the odd phrasing of his friends and excitement in him she was wondering if maybe he didn't care about all of that. He had always been more romantic than that, and she doubted war would stop him.

"Goddamn it," James said, grumbling as he held the door open for Lily and walked with her up the stairs. "Those idiots only-" When they reached the door to his flat, James stopped Lily for a moment. "Can you just pretend you have no idea what's about to happen?"

Lily's heart rate had increased exponentially at James' response. At first she was worried that she had scared him, but it quickly became apparent that she had guessed right. _This is it, he's going to propose!_ She was giddy with anticipation and could only nod at James' request. She couldn't help it, James was a grand and romantic man, and a man she loved wholeheartedly, she could barely guess what he had planned. She bit her lip softly, trying to suppress her excitement.

James opened the door wide for Lily to see the room he'd spent hours preparing. For the first time since they'd moved in, the Marauders common room was _clean_. He'd lit the room with floating candles, and the ceiling of the room had been charmed to see the starry night above. A floating quartet set played music on their own, leaving the happy couple to their privacy as James shut the door behind them.

"It's beautiful," Lily said, astounded. She'd seen James and his friends do all sorts of amazing magical feats, but she couldn't help the surprise she felt. She felt her eyes tear up and cursed her habit of happy tears. "James, it's- it's just wonderful."

James grinned, pride, fear, and excitement battling for control in his chest. He knew she would say yes, but he couldn't help the irrational fear that she'd say no, that she'd laugh at him. She was perfect, far too perfect for him. Certainly she would realize that and run far away from a life with him.

Not giving himself time to whimp out, _are you a Gryffindor or what?_ , he knelt down to one knee. As he took a deep breath and prepared to propose, he remembered her father when he'd asked for his blessing.

* * *

"Hullo, James, how can I help you?" Mr. Evans asked, sitting in the common room of the Evans' home after his wife welcomed the young man into their home. At the nerves so clear on his face, Mr. Evans had an idea as to why James was there, but he didn't say anything. "I don't imagine you're here to pick of Lily, she's been moved out for a little while now."

James chuckled nervously, running his hand through his hair out of habit. In the wizarding world, a man asked for a father's permission with his parents alongside him, as proof that the woman would be well taken care of and respect for the older generation. Muggles, he'd been told, didn't have such tradition. The man asked his significant other's father alone, no support system behind him. It could be worse, Mr. Evans did like James. Still, it was a precocious thing to ask, and James felt every bit like an 18 year old as he stood before the accomplished man.

"I'm here to ask your blessing," James said, ignoring the pounding in his gut as he did so. He was brave, damn it, and he'd fight obstacles far more dangerous than this for Lily. "I would like to ask for Lily's hand in marriage, and I am hoping for your blessing before I do so."

Ah, he'd been right. Mr. Evans smiled warmly at the young man before him, he remembered when he'd asked his father in law the same question. Though he hadn't asked so eloquently, and he'd been wearing ripped jeans and a leather jacket when he did so, not an amused but wholehearted attempt at muggle professional attire. "And if I give it?"

Though Mr. Evans had full intention of giving James his blessing, he wasn't going to do so without talking to him first. This was his youngest daughter he was talking about. Still, James was already doing better than the whale, Vernon, who hadn't even spoken to him about his intentions to propose to Petunia, much less asked for his blessing. And Vernon had been 23 at the time, not 18.

James felt his heart sink, but he tried his best not to show it. His father had warned him " _Mr. Evans won't just give you his blessing_ ," he'd said. " _He's going to want to talk to you first about your intentions with Lily, you need to prove to him that you're going to do right by his daughter_." He hated that his dad was right, but he couldn't blame Mr. Evans. Lily was precious, and her life was not to be taken lightly.

"Then I will do everything I can to make her life the best it can be," James said with confidence. "Though," He smiled warmly, "I'm sure I'll never make her as happy as she makes me."

"Somehow I doubt that, son," Mr. Evans said with a smile. "I've known Lily her whole life, she's never been as happy as she is with you." He gestured to a seat, there was no need for James to remain standing. "Please, sit," Mr. Evans smiled as James rushed to do as he asked. "Now, Lily tells me you're going to become a police man?"

James bit back his usual quip to that assumption, Aurors weren't mere coppers. He wasn't an Auror anymore though. He'd made it through training, but though they were excellent wizards, the Aurors simply weren't doing enough for the war. It had driven him mad, and after a fight with a fellow Auror about their ineffectiveness in the war efforts, he'd quit. Assuming Lord Voldemort was brought down, James was going to be an Auror again one day, but for now...

"No, actually," James said, unwilling to lie to Mr. Evans even though he knew Lily would support it. "As you know, there is a war going on against You-Know-Who. I joined the Aurors, but my efforts are better put towards fighting the war. "

Mr. Evans was surprised to hear James talk like he did, jaw set and eyes determined. He'd never seen a man so... _proud_ to be jobless. "So you're unemployed?" He asked flatly, unable to hide his disappointment in that. He had no expectation that Lily would be a docile housewife anytime soon, but with marriage came children, and if James was jobless...

"Yes sir," James replied, his voice calm but his throat closing in fear. "I am a full time volunteer in an organization dedicated to fighting the war."

"A vigilante?" Mr. Evans had asked, "So you still live at home with your parents?"

"No, a warrior," James said. "In the wizarding world we-" he didn't know how to put it, he was worried about being condescending, but Mr. Evans' response made it clear he did not understand. He knew it would kill the point of what he was doing, but he wished Lily was there. "Most of what I do is as a first responder, which isn't a paid position. It's needed, though. And to answer your question, no, I don't live with my mum and dad. I live with my Hogwarts roommates, Remus and Sirius."

Mr. Evans remembered James' three friends when he'd picked up Lily at the end of her 7th year. Though he liked James, and James clearly made his daughter happy, he felt a growing concern about the young boy before him. Unemployed with two roommates and fighting separate from the government...

"Mr. Evans, you don't need to worry about me providing for Lily," James said in a rush, earning a raised eyebrow from the man in front of him. "The Potter's are... relatively wealthy and I will go back to being an Auror as soon as this war is over. I can't divert my attention right now, You-Know-Who is attacking muggles and muggleborns. I can't put any less than all of my attentions to that, sir. With all due respect I'm doing it for Lily, and you, sir."

Mr. Evans nodded, he'd fought in war himself, participating in the end of the second World War. It hadn't occurred to him that the wizarding world wasn't using an army like the muggle war had. It seemed that the war was fought by volunteers, and he could hardly argue against the nobility of what James was doing.

"I understand, and I'm sorry I questioned you like that." He said, ignoring James' insistence that an apology wasn't needed. Feeling the weight of danger he hardly understood and definitely could not control, Mr. Evans changed topics with a mischievous, boy like smile. "So once you're married, Lily will move in with you and your friends?"

"Of course," James replied without thought. He could think of nothing better than living with his friends and wife, except maybe if Peter were able to join them.

Mr. Evans laughed, deciding to leave that argument to the children. "Well, you seem to have a solid head on your shoulders. You have my blessing, son."

James grinned widely, "You won't regret this, sir."

* * *

"Lily Evans," He asked, taking her attention from the beauty in the room to his kneeled stance on the floor. "Will you-"

He was interrupted by her kiss, her arms wrapped around him as she knocked him down. She couldn't believe it, she was marrying James Potter!

"Lily!" James almost yelled, laughing as he did with a grin on his face. "You have to let me finish!" He felt himself laugh again when he saw her face, not giggle, as that was certainly not manly. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!"She giggled, not worried about being mature, before kissing him again. This time he didn't fight her, pulling her close he ignored the rambunctious noise of his Hogwarts friends coming in and setting off fireworks. They could burn the flat down for all he cared, he'd done it, and now he was going to marry Lily Evans!

* * *

 **Authors Note** : Well, James got through the proposal, now the two of them just have to plan a wedding. A wedding for the Potter's and all of their friends, as well as the muggle Evans', in the middle of a war. No trouble, right? :) Don't worry, this isn't going to be an angsty fic. Very very fluffy and light. All of their parents are alive, and the chapters will revolve around the wedding, not the war. I'm not going to ignore it, but don't expect the tone to stay serious for very long.

So for those of you reading _Rebuilding Ourselves_ , don't worry, this story shouldn't interfere. Where _Rebuilding Ourselves_ is difficult and dark, this is going to be a pretty light fic.

Anyway, let me know what you think and I'll do my best to keep the story updated!


	2. Chapter 2

**The Announcement**

"I still don't understand why we can't have it at _our_ flat," Sirius muttered to himself, pouting in the kitchen of Marlene and Lily's flat a week after James proposed.

"Because you burned it down," Lily snapped halfheartedly. "Now shoo, or at least do something productive."

Sirius moved, but he didn't stop pouting. Lily and James had gotten engaged the previous Saturday, and they still hadn't told their parents and extended friends. James, of course, had wanted to go tell everyone, in person, that night, but Lily had talked him out of it. Now that they were telling everyone, after enjoying a week to themselves (and their roommates), James had insisted on a dinner party for their family. Knowing when to pick her battles, Lily had agreed, but insisted it be at her flat as opposed to the Marauders'. She would have preferred to do a dinner party _after_ letting their families know, but the prankster she was marrying had always enjoyed a good surprise. "It's repaired now, c'mon, it's not too late."

With 30 minutes until she announced to her parents that their 18 year old daughter was marrying an unemployed 18 year old with 3 roommates that had just burned down their flat, Lily seriously disagreed with Sirius' statement that 'it's not too late'. She merely glared at him, and he seemed to catch the message as he backed away slightly.

"My parents will be here soon," She said, mostly to herself, as she looked around her kitchen. She finished putting up dirty dishes from lunch before putting her hands on her hips. The food would be served on their kitchen bar (though she couldn't do anything for it until the food was there), extra toilet paper was in her (now even more so) spotless bathroom, her bookshelves were neatly organized, the trunk in their common room that served as their coffee table was filled with freshly cleaned blankets and pillows, all copies of the prophet were safely tucked away in Marlene's room, the carpet surrounding the floo was perfect... She trailed off, but couldn't come up with a single thing to do besides wait for James to come back with Remus, Peter, and Marlene with the catered food.

"Lily, calm down," Sirius said, and at Lily's glare he maintained his resolve. "If you don't I'll turn into Padfoot and get fur and drool over everything I don't eat."

"Bad dog," Lily snapped, but she gave in and joined him in the common room. She sat in silence for a moment, tense in opposition to Sirius' calm lounge, before standing up and heading to the front door.

"Lily," Sirius groaned in exasperation. He liked Lily, loved her like a sister even, but he'd never understand her constant need to be in control. She had to have everything perfect, if she ever saw his room she might have a heart attack. _Of course, that might be good for her, force her to slow down_. _A nice mandated stay at St Mungos..._

"I completely forgot to clean the welcome mat!" Lily exclaimed, running to the front door and closing it behind her as she beat the welcome mat on the stair rail. Happy it was clean, she set it back down perfectly and walked back into the flat. "That would have been a disaster."

Sirius could barely contain his eye roll, "Why didn't you just use magic?"

"For starters, this is _muggle_ London," Lily explained, for what she felt was the millionth time. "I can't pull out my wand on the street. Also, doing it the muggle way calms me."

Sirius remembered that Lily was in muggle London very rarely, as he usually came through the floo, but when he did he was reminded of the frustration of moving her to muggle London. She and Marlene had gotten a furnished flat, which saved them the trouble of moving all of the furniture the muggle way. Still, they'd had to bring the fireplace up to code before they could connect it to the floo network. Doing that required more than tripling the small thing in size, and though her landlord was hands off, they'd also been required to charm it so that muggles would see it as the original size. That had been only the beginning of troubles. James had brooded for weeks after Lily had argued with him against the more powerful warding spells because it affected the electricity (whatever that was) that the muggles needed. It was also why the catering company wouldn't deliver the food. (To this Lily had argued that she could cook the food, something that even a blind man could see she did not have the time for. Not to mention that Lily was not a very good cook.)

"Living like a muggle is more trouble than it's worth, Lily," Sirius groaned as she muttered something about James and the others being late.

"My parents are muggles, Sirius," Lily said. "I'm always going to live with muggles." Sirius snorted and Lily arched her eyebrow dangerously, "What?"

"Just the idea of James living with muggles," Sirius said. "He's never going to do that."

Lily didn't get a chance to question Sirius, 'What exactly is his plan then?', because then (only 4 minutes until the party was to start) James, Remus, Marlene, and Peter walked out of the floo with their arms filled with food.

"Thank Merlin," Lily said, rushing to help her friends with the food. "James, you need to get changed."

"I know I know," James said, dropping the food on the table. He managed to get Lily to calm down long enough for a chaste kiss. "It's gonna work out, okay?"

Lily nodded and turned to Marlene, who was already handing her the instructions that came with the food. "Set it out... Choose display option... Cast charm..." She used her wand then, pulling it out from her hair. Using the charm the caterers had given her she set the food up, just in time for Marlene to help her mum and dad in.

"Mum! Dad!" Lily exclaimed, smiling brightly at her parents. "Thanks for coming, you're the first ones here!"

Mr. Evans looked to the teenagers in his daughter's common room with amusement, "What about your friends?"

Lily hugged her parents, "They're here all of the time anyway, they don't count."

"You wound me," Sirius said, clutching his right hand to his chest as if he'd just been hit with a stinging hex.

Peter laughed, but quickly sobered himself as he joined in. "And after we helped you move in, we don't count."

"We're not second class citizens, you know," Remus said with a tell tale grin. It was Marlene who put an end to the Marauders antics for Lily.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Evans," She said with a bright and welcoming smile. It was interesting for Sirius, who'd -not 24 hours ago- been seduced by the witch, to see Marlene transform into the perfect, well behaved witch she was now. "Ignore the heathens, we try to limit their caffeine but..." She trailed off, "How are you?"

The parents laughed, but it was Mrs. Evans that spoke. "Very well, I'm happy to see that Lily has so many friends to depend on. She's so busy lately, with her work at the Arurs."

"Aurors, mum," Lily corrected casually. "And I'm fine."

"I'm not saying you're not, honey," Mrs. Evans said. "Just that it is good to have friends."

"Very good," Mr. Evans said as James walked out of Lily's room with slacks and a tucked in button up shirt. "Would you mind introducing us?"

"Oh! Sorry! Of course," Lily said, smiling at James briefly as he welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Evans and grabbed her hand. "This is Peter, Remus, and Sirius." She said, "They're here all the time, I forget that not everyone knows them."

"It's not- oh my goodness!" Mrs. Evans said, watching the Potter's appear in the room by floo. "How- Lily dear, how did they fit through the tiny fireplace?"

"Oh," Lily said as James and Sirius turned to welcome their parents to the room. "It's bigger, but we charmed it so that muggles can't see how big it is. For my landlord."

"Ah," Mrs. Evans said, adopting the habit of assuming that everything Lily said about the magical world was normal. She wondered then, alongside her husband, how much they missed about their daughter's life because they were muggles.

"Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans," James said, walking up with his parents. "These are my parents, Fleamont and Euphemia Potter."

Mr. Evans had never met anyone with such odd names, and had no idea who was which name, so he smiled warmly and shook their hands. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Harrison, and this is my wife Emma."

"Nice to meet you, Emma, Harrison," Mr. Potter said. "I assume you two also have _absolutely_ no idea why we're here?" He asked with a wink, much to the annoyance of James. Mr. Evans laughed, understanding now where James got his humor.

"Oh, absolutely none," Mr. Evans confirmed, though with a look at his daughter's ring finger he smiled. "Or, maybe a few."

The parents and friends laughed, leaving Lily and James to look at each other in common annoyance. "If only to stop these terrible jokes," James said. "Lily, we should go ahead and tell them now."

Lily nodded, not needing to summon her Gryffindor courage while surrounded by happy friends and family. "We're engaged!"

Both mothers gasped despite knowing exactly what Lily was going to say, though it was Mrs. Evans who spoke first. "That is fantastic news! Can I see the ring?"

"Of course," Lily said, blushing as she put her hand out for her mother to see.

"It's gorgeous," Mrs. Evans said, looking at the ring with a smile. "And vintage."

"It's a family ring," Mrs. Potter said. "It suits you, Lily."

Lily beamed at the praise, "I love it, it's a gorgeous ring."

As Lily showed the women her ring, the men were gathered around the food. As they served themselves Mr. Potter spoke to his son. "So you finally asked her?" He laughed, "I'm surprised I didn't get an owl that you burned something down in the process."

James flushed, thinking of the damage Remus, Peter, and Sirius had done to their flat. Before he said anything, Mr. Evans spoke.

"Not that I'm not excited or anything, but, I'm not sure I'd classify it as 'finally'," Mr. Evans said awkwardly as he began to eat.

"That's because you haven't listened to James here for the last 8 years," Mr. Potter said with a warm smile. "On his first letter he completely forgot to tell us he was sorted in Gryffindor because he spent the whole thing talking about Lily and his new friends. It's been like that ever since."

Mr. Evans watched James with a newfound respect. He'd known that James had annoyed Lily when they were younger, but he'd had no idea how long he'd loved her.

Feeling awkward under the attention, James made his way to his fiance. He handed her a butterbeer and casually listened to the conversation before getting pulled in.

"...is a beautiful time of year and I know a tent rental place that provides climate control tents. Even with a blizzard no one will feel uncomfortable," Mrs. Potter said enthusiastically.

"That's a great idea," Lily said, nodding alongside Marlene when she did. With a bright look at her mum she realized that while they could use them, they'd have to be more subtle than dancing in a blizzard. "Of course, we couldn't be so obvious as to use them in a blizzard..."

"I doubt there will be a blizzard in April," Marlene said, noticing that Lily was already worrying.

Lily nodded, squeezing James' hand when she did so. Unlike the others, Mr. and Mrs. Potter were confused. "I- I don't- why..?"

"My family is all muggle," Lily offered as an explanation.

"And they don't know..?" Mr. Potter asked, continuing at Lily's head shake. "What did you tell them about Hogwarts?"

"Boarding school?" James said, exasperated. His parents were not blood purists by any means, but they were absolutely unaware of muggles. "Uh, statue of secrecy mum and dad."

"Oh, sorry dear," Mrs. Potter said, looking ashamed alongside her husband.

"It's, uh, it's no problem," Lily said. She knew Mr. and Mrs. Potter _meant_ well, but she felt bad and hoped her parents did not feel uncomfortable.

Lily's parents never felt _uncomfortable_ but that night, they wouldn't have defined themselves as comfortable either. Neither cared, though, because they would deal with that and much more for their daughter. Despite her magic, Lily had never been anything but the perfect daughter. She hadn't gotten detentions, she'd excelled in school, she'd behaved and acted polite and composed at all times. It was amazing to see their completely organized and in control daughter so carefree with James. He brought out the best in her, and when they left both Mr. and Mrs. Evans were very happy to welcome James into the family.

* * *

"Well that was _thrilling_ ," Sirius complained that night as Lily and James cleaned up.

"You're just upset that there wasn't firewhiskey," Remus critiqued. "Lily, don't listen to him, it was great."

"Thanks, Remus," Lily said, taking a seat next to him on the couch when she and James finished cleaning. "I was worried but everything worked out."

"I never realized, but James, your mum and dad are _old_ ," Marlene said, munching on a plate of food as she spoke. "Honestly, how old were they when they had you?"

James shrugged, "I don't know."

"You wouldn't call Mrs. Potter old if you'd seen her chase James and Sirius around," Remus said with a well natured smile. "She's older, but she's more than capable."

Peter nodded, "You should have seen her when she caught them in their ani-" His eyes jerked to Marlene, and Sirius smacked Peter.

"Shut it, Peter," Sirius said.

Remus sighed, "As fun as this is, and as much as I hate to agree with him, Sirius is right. We could use some firewhiskey."

"Let's go then!" Sirius said, already at the floo. "The Three Broomsticks is open for hours!"

Sirius' enthusiasm was magnetic, and soon everyone had their coats on. Everyone, that is, except for James and Lily.

"C'mon," Peter said. "If we hurry up we'll be there in time for half priced shots."

"I think we're going to stay behind," Lily said, leaning into James on the couch. He appeared to be whispering something in her ears, and she blushed when he did.

Marlene, who had walked in on Lily and James one or two times in the past, knew better than to stay. Lily was now whispering to James, and the both of them were a happy shade of pink. "Let's go everyone, give the love birds some privacy."

* * *

Later that night, sated and comfortable, Lily and James lay in her bed. They were both smiling brightly, as they tended to do. They had never managed to actually have sex that night, though they tried, because they couldn't stop laughing.

"Seriously though, imagine, Sirius making his speech, completely filled with stag jokes, and Peter, Remus, Marlene, and you mum and dad just having a fit while everyone else just thinks he's 'a little special'." Lily laughed, "OH MERLIN, I just realized, James, James, Jamie-" Lily seemed too amused and excited to get to her point.

James laughed, she was so cute when she was like this. "What, Lily?" He said, smiling and doing his best to take in her every feature.

"They're gonna put together your _stag_ party!" Lily bust out laughing as she did, her eyes watering.

James, who had never been a huge fan of puns or word play like Sirius, couldn't help but admit that his _stag_ party was probably going to be a riot. Still, he also couldn't help but tease his soon-to-be-wife. "You know, with your love of puns, maybe you should marry Sirius."

As James laughed Lily gave a very convincing mock-thoughtful face. "You know, you may have a point- I bet you he's in Marly's room-" She got up to leave the bed, but she didn't get far before James playfully pulled her under him.

"Oh no you don't, you took the ring, you're mine now," He said with a wide smile. "Until death do us part."

"And you know what," Lily said, completely serious now. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

 **Author's Note** Hello all! It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that, I am notoriously bad about updating stories, but I try! With James' and Lily's parents meeting, it was bound to be a little more awkward and serious, but we'll keep a playful tune in the next chapter.

 _Next Chapter_ Wedding venues, budget, and Marauder madness.


	3. Chapter 3

**The Guest List and Wedding Planning Kickoff**

"Absolutely, it's really just the reception hall we need to find," Lily said. "Potter's have gotten married at that church for generations, and the community around it lives with muggles."

"That'll be perfect," Marlene said, sitting at the dining table in her and Lily's flat going over the planning for the upcoming Potter wedding. As Lily's bridesmaid she expected a lot of work, but she didn't expect to actually have to do much of the planning portion. Her first hint for that, outside of knowing Lily throughout 7 years at Hogwarts, was when she'd seen their table covered in bridal magazines early that Saturday morning. "So where are you thinking for the reception hall?"

"The problem is, we can't have it somewhere very far from the church. There is a park in Godrics Hollow, but I don't know how much that would be, or if they'd even let us rent out a pavilion."

"The pavilion? Will that be big enough?" Marlene asked, looking up from the pictures Lily had taken when she and James had toured the town a couple of days before. "How many people are you inviting?"

"That's the other problem, we don't have a guest list yet," Lily said. She groaned, "James keeps putting it off."

"Well knowing the Potters, it may be a large list," Marlene said.

Lily, who hadn't yet thought much about the family she was marrying into, dropped her head onto the table dramatically. The red head would argue until the day she died that getting engaged to James Potter hadn't changed her, that she was an independent woman, but Marlene had never seen Lily be quite so dramatic until _after_ she fell in love with the one and only James Potter.

Instead of pointing that out to her friend, because she could do that later, Marlene tried to help. "Well, whats the base line?"

Marlene pulled out a piece of paper to write it out on, but it appeared that Lily already had a list out. She'd made a chart on a muggle spiral notebook that had grid lined paper in it. Names, addresses, and muggle vs. magical all listed out.

"Well there's you, and Sirius, Peter, Remus, Alice and Frank, my mum and dad, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Petunia and Vernon, Fabian, Gideon, Aunt June and Uncle Richard," Lily trailed off, reading them silently and counting the number on her fingers. "Thirty-ish?"

When Marlene said, "Well, the Potter's are gonna outnumber the Evans' 2-1, at least!" Lily felt her chest constrict. One _hundred_ people? That couldn't be possible, absolutely not, it was ridiculous. Absolutely insane.

She took a deep breath, something she'd always done when she began to feel overwhelmed. She could do this, she had Marlene, and James, and she was sure that the Marauders would be more helpful than harmful, probably. As far as budget, they could do it. Sure, she wasn't making a _lot_ of money, but the church wasn't going to charge them and her mum and dad offered to get the dress. That left food, reception, and invitations. It would be a lot, but she had savings. Not to mention that they could do a lot of the wedding themselves; she knew plenty of charms that could be used for clothes, makeup, music, and James' transfiguration skills would surely be helpful. She let out her breath, they could do this, she could do this.

* * *

"Uh, Prongs, what is Lily-Love doing?"

"I think she's finally gone mad."

"It was about time-"

"-Oi! That's my fiancee you're talking about!"

"Oi! All of you! Shut your traps and listen!"

"Thank you, Marlene," Lily said gratefully, smiling at her Maid of Honor. They were now exactly 5 months before the wedding, and so the wedding party was gathered at Lily's flat. The Marauders, who were the groomsmen and had been invited by James, had been under the impression that they'd been gathered for a small get together. (Read: Party) The bridesmaids, who had been invited by Lily, were under no such impression. In fact, they all thought it was hilarious that the boys had thought that Lily was hosting a small get together. (Read: Party) It wasn't that Lily didn't host parties, though she did usually leave that to the Marauders, but that they'd shared a dorm with her for years and knew better than to think that Lily would be 'laid back' when it came to her one and only wedding.

"Okay, just to get everyone up to speed we are 5 months from the wedding. April 28, 1979, and we have a lot of planning to do." Lily said, "Over 100 people are coming, and at least 20 of them are muggles who know nothing and cannot know anything about magic.

"Tomorrow morning Alice, Marlene, and Mary will all come with me to look at wedding dresses. Muggle shops will require at least 5 months so we can be certain the dress will be done, and since my mum is buying that means we _have_ to find a dress tomorrow. We're all meeting here where my mum and dad will pick us up in her car. James, you and the groomsmen will sort out your dress robes tomorrow, you made that appointment, right?"

"Yu-hu," James said, smiling at Lily. Sirius smiled as he rolled his eyes at his best mate, he got all sappy eyed whenever Lily 'took charge', it was a miracle he'd gotten through his 7th year.

"Brilliant," Lily said, smiling at him brightly. She turned behind herself then, pulling out a large bag stuffed with envelopes. "I stuffed them and sent off the Save the Dates to my muggle family, but these still need to go out. Can you help me take them?"

James stood up, "Sure." He didn't think twice about it as he accompanied Lily out of the flat, leaving the wedding party behind them. Not only had he not been listening to Lily, but they were all friends and fellow Order members. They'd always spent time at each other's homes as if they were their own, so leaving them all in Marlene and Lily's flat was anything but abnormal to him.

"That numpty," Mary said after they'd left. "Didn't even think twice about leaving us here."

"It's for the best," Remus said. "He'd never have left if he suspected."

"Out of curiosity, do you have an appointment tomorrow for your dress robes?" Alice asked.

"We'll be fine," Peter said, not answering her question but waving her off. "Madam Malkin loves us."

Marlene rolled her eyes, but she had more important things to do than nag the groomsmen. "So, staggette party."

"And stag," Sirius said, grinning like mad while the Marauders held their heads in shame. James, the only Marauder _not_ there was also the only Marauder who enjoyed puns.

"Yes, let's plan," Marlene replied, and Alice giggled madly.

* * *

 **Authors Note** Hello all! I know I said we'd be covering venues in this chapter, but it just didn't work out that way. Also, the reason it took me so long to update? NaNoWriMo! Writing 50,000 words in one month kind of distracted me, but now that that is over, and I take a much needed break from that story, I can get back to putting together this one. I hope you enjoyed it and if anyone wants, I found a list of 70's Brittish slang so I can make the story dialog more time appropriate. I don't know if anyone else cares too much about that, but if you do, or want an explanation for some of the more uncommon ones, let me know and I can send you a link.

Oh! Also! I've decided to have more short chapters than less long chapters. So this one is a little shorter, I may even start breaking it out into scenes. Let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Grooms Party Tuxedos**

Sirius walked into the small home with little concern for who may be inside. He ignored the fair haired teen in the living room in favor of going to the kitchen. When he reached the kitchen, however, he did not find the breakfast he had been promised so he returned to the living room, certain the occupant would know where the breakfast was.

"Yo, Wormtail, where's breakfast?" Sirius asked, interrupting the animagus' work.

Peter, who was trying to repair the front window, merely took Sirius' interruption as an excuse to stop. "James is out getting breakfast, he should be back in a bit."

"And Remus?" Sirius asked, curious as to where the last member of their group was.

"Upstairs, getting rid of a boggart in the master," Peter answered, already back to working on the windows. Sirius nodded, thanking Peter as he made his way up rickety stairs to the master bedroom. It wasn't far, it wasn't a large home, and when he got there Remus was on the floor that lead into the bathroom reading a book and muttering to himself.

"Having a party, Rem-tastic?" Sirius asked, grinning at the sight.

Remus jumped up, surprised by Sirius. "Merlin- Sirius, you can't just sneak up on me like that!"

Sirius laughed, "I just walked into the room."

"Yeah, well," Remus said, struggling to communicate his frustration. He went back to reading his book, "Don't call me Rem-tastic."

"What about Remmy? Rem-a-roonie?" Sirius asked. He walked over and looked at the book Remus was reading. " _Plumbing and the Modern Wizard's House_? Wow, you're right, reading _is_ fun."

"Shove off," Remus said. He pointedly ignored Sirius' list of potential nicknames. "Why aren't you doing anything? James needs the house fixed by the wedding or the whole surprise will be ruined."

"I came up here to help you," Sirius said. Remus wasn't convinced, he stopped reading to give Sirius a disbelieving look. "Okay, fine. I was promised breakfast and you know I'm useless before I eat."

"James should be back soon but I think we're heading right out to Madame Malkins after we eat," Remus said. "In the meantime, why don't you do something useful and tell me what you think of this."

Sirius grabbed the book that Remus passed to him, reading the indicated passage. He shrugged and handed the book back, "Looks simple enough. We just need to get one of us in each of the bathrooms."

"My concern is the timing," Remus said.

"We've managed more difficult things," Sirius replied nonchalantly.

Remus nodded, agreeing with Sirius. He put the book aside, "So how are things with Marlene?"

"On a permanent hiatus," Sirius replied nonchalantly.

"Wait- you broke up? Why?" Remus asked. In truth he wasn't _surprised_ that they'd broken up, just surprised that they'd broken up and Sirius didn't already have a new date. Sirius was _never_ single, he always went from one sexual partner to the next. It was part of why Remus had given up any hope of dating the black sheep of the Black family while still at Hogwarts. "Is everything okay?"

"I just wasn't feeling it, and neither was she," Sirius said. He made sure to keep an eye on Remus' reaction.

"But- there isn't anyone else, is there? I mean, outside of Lily and Marlene, who do you get a chance to... smoosh with?" Remus very rarely felt confused like this and couldn't stop the slight blush that formed under Sirius' amused glance.

"Who said there isn't anyone else?" Sirius asked. "There's this nerdy, twigy bloke I've had my eyes on."

Remus didn't get a chance to explode with inexperience, what was a man to do with such a forward statement? Instead James' voice echoed through the small house and interrupted the moment. " _Breakfast!_ "

Sirius felt his stomach grumble and, with an alluring smile back to Remus, ran downstairs to eat.

* * *

"Who would have thought you needed a _reservation_ to get tuxes," James exclaimed as he and his best mates walked down the streets of Diagon Alley.

"Anyone with sense, Prongs," Remus repeated for what he felt was the hundredth time that day. Madame Malkin had been greatly offended that the young men hadn't considered her time enough to make a reservation and had been further offended that they wanted specialty tuxes without warning. "Lily is going to murder you for getting the wrong tuxes."

"Don't worry so much, we can charm them ourselves," Sirius said.

In truth, James wasn't worried at all about his soon-to-be wife. Between his mates and himself he had no doubt that they could change the tuxes to appear to be of muggle design to the many muggles in attendance. "We made a tracking map of Hogwarts! This is nothing."

"And we can test it on Lily's mum and da beforehand," Peter pointed out.

Remus only rolled his eyes, already devising a plan. "Well, if this all goes south, the blame is all on you two."

Sirius and Peter glared but it was Sirius, with a new expression of mock innocence, who protested. "Why us?"

"Because it'll be James' wedding day and _I_ know better," Remus said.

"Well, it doesn't matter, because we'll figure it out," Sirius said. "We've still got almost 4 months until the wedding!"

"And a house to finish!" Peter piped up.

For the first time James began to wonder if he had enough time. He didn't care though. As he apparated to Godric's Hollow and began a very long night with his best mates he knew that _these_ were the good ole days.

 **Author's Note** Finally got this fixed! Welcome to the missing chapter! If you don't know what I'm talking about then awesome, move on to the next chapter and we can all pretend I didn't accidentally delete my only copy of this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Venue, Food, and Budget**

"James, we really need to sort this out, you can't just drag me off." Lily complained as her fiance led her away from the park that she'd taken him to Godric's Hollow to see. It was a muggle owned park, beautiful in it's own right, and it had the car space needed for her muggle relatives. However, as they'd seen when they'd arrived, it was a popular park, and they needed to get their reservation in soon. "Really, this is time sensitive."

James heard her, he really did, he just didn't listen. He led her to a small, quaint home despite her arguing (though she wasn't pulling on his hands at all, and didn't seem to be arguing as much as she usually did). He slipped around back, leading her to the backyard of the home.

"James- James! What- you can't just-"

"Calm _down_ Lily, Merlin, I've spoken with the owners, they don't mind," He said. It was only a white lie, really. He was the owner, and he'd certainly cleared the backyard visit with himself. A lie of omission. "I thought we could do it here," He said, gesturing to the rather grand backyard.

Lily had grown up in a middle class home in a middle class neighborhood. She'd seen white picket fences, freshly cut grass, and trimmed bushes her whole life. What she hadn't seen was a yard as beautiful and amazing as this one. True, it was overgrown, but she was used to looking for the magic in something. Unlike the small, neatly groomed trees of her childhood, this yard had huge, old trees that dominated the skyline. She could already imagine small lights dangling between them, a dance floor in the center of the space, with circular tables all around.

Her mouth gaped open, "James, this would be-"

"-I know," He said, watching her amazement with pride. "It's open, we can have the reception here, I've already cleared it."

"Wow- James, how much would it cost?" She asked, "I mean-"

She was already thinking of the solutions. Guests would park at the church, and walk over to the home so close by. The bathrooms in the home had to be nicer than those at the park, and with something more out of the way, not to mention private, their reception would be able to be _more_. More theirs, more time, more beautiful...

"That's the best part!" James said, grinning madly. "It's free!"

"What?!" Lily asked, more than shocked. "You can't be-"

"-But I am!" James replied, "So what do you think?"

Lily smiled, "Oh, James, I love it!"

* * *

With a date, time, and location set things seemed to move along much faster than the young couple could have predicted. Before they knew it they were sitting at a small table in a caterer's building, praying to anyone they could that _this_ vendor would allow them to have wait staff for a reasonable budget.

The reasoning for it was simple, why would a magical caterer have wait staff? They had _magic_ , and magic couldn't call out, or trip, or overcrowd a venue. The few caterers they'd found with waitstaff used house elves, another option they could not use with muggles in the crowd. They didn't have picky dietary restrictions, but they did have picky staffing restrictions.

Of course, it wasn't just the staff needing to be there. The caterers needed to be prepared to interact with muggle guests, and casual mentions of magic would not be tolerated. It was because of that that Lily and James found themselves at that particular caterer's building, because they boasted preparations for things just like that.

"We require all of our staff to be excellent in muggle interactions, because of our high standards most are muggle borns, though we have a few squibs." The woman who ran the company, slightly portly with a no-nonsense control over things, smiled as she spoke. "We get a lot of couples like you, they don't want to preform memory charms, but they need vendors that are aware of magic. With us you get the best of both worlds, food is served on plates that keeps it at the right temperature, but they just look like normal plates and they're served by normal waiters."

"That is perfect," Lily said, looking up from the brochure that Sally, the woman in charge, had given her. "And the food speaks for itself."

James nodded eagerly, he'd enjoyed his food perhaps more than he should have. "The chicken especially."

"The chicken is a favorite," Sally replied.

"And what is the pricing like?" Lily asked, noticing that the brochure lacked that necessary piece of information.

Sally reached for their form where they'd filled out the meal they'd like to have, "With these selections, it will be around 4 galleons 16 sickles a head, with additional fees..." She filled out the chart with other information, and handed it to them to see. "It will be 812 Galleons 5 Sickles 19 Knuts, now that does include an estimated tip."

Lily and James were shocked by the total, even though it was less than the quotes they'd gotten from other caterers. They kept hoping they could find someone cheaper, but the reality was sinking in that they simply couldn't. 137 guests were a lot, and add to that the complications of keeping the magical world a secret...

They left the meeting with weak smiles and a concern for their budget.

* * *

"No, absolutely not," Lily replied over dinner. "We're not-"

"You can't pay for this wedding alone," James replied fairly. "And we're not looking at taking from the main Potter vault, just mine-"

"-You're not making any money, I won't have our lives take more from that vault than goes in." Lily snapped, then she softened. "I respect that you're working for the Order, which happens to mean our budget for the wedding is tight, but we're not dipping into your inherited money for this. We'll have to sort something out, invite less people-"

"-My mum'll claw her own eyes out before she invites one less person," James replied. "And when we tell her _why_ we've cut the list, she'll insist on paying for the whole wedding."

Lily groaned, glaring at her spaghetti. How were there politics in wedding budgets? How had her life come to this?

"We'll just have to sort something out, then," Lily said, thinking in her head if she could take more shifts at work. Maybe sell potions on the side? She had her license, it was perfectly legal... She'd certainly have to figure something out, because James seemed done with the conversation, and had turned over to talking about the war.

* * *

Author's Note For those of you wondering; 4 galleons 16 sickles a head is £14.89 a head. 812 Galleons, 5 sickles, and 19 knuts comes to £2447.92- which includes a 20% gratuity. This is set in 1979 and so that is about £73.17/$95.97 a head, £12,029.00/$15,777.30 total in 2018. I know, I know, 15 almost 16 grand USD is a LOT for food in a wedding (it's approx triple what I paid for my whole wedding) but think about this- the food is specialty and the serving is specialty. They are having fancy people, the Headmaster of Hogwarts and the Minister of Magic, in attendance. The Potter family is new rich, but they've made a lot of the 'right' friends (Draco would be proud if not for all the mudbloods and blood traitors) in that time.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Bridesmaids Dresses**

As the wedding grew closer more and more things needed to be done. James had noticed, with more than a little trepidation, that the task list for the first 9 or so months of wedding planning (which reminded him, who could manage to wait a year or more to get married?) was shorter than the task list for the last 3. He didn't care though, anything she could throw at him he would do, with a smile.

The same, however, could not be said for Petunia Dursley nee Evans. James watched as Lily paced the floor of her shared flat, waiting for her older sister to arrive. He sat beside her other bridesmaids; Marlene, Mary, and Alice. They all watched their beloved red head pace with sympathetic gazes. It was thirty minutes _after_ Petunia had agreed to meet (for the day had been planned around _her_ schedule, as opposed to Lily's) with the other bridesmaids, and she still was not there.

It was the ring of the phone that called Lily's attention from her rigorous pacing, pulling her to the kitchen.

"Hello?" She asked, confused when it was not her mother who answered.

"What are you!?" Petunia asked, "I'm at the shop now, you really should have gotten here early."

Lily was not surprised that her sister had called her without introduction and with a snappish attitude, in fact, it didn't even really occur to her. "At my flat, I thought you were picking us up here?"

"What?! Vernon wouldn't drive your _freak_ friends, Lily," Petunia said, sounding scandalized.

"Okay, okay," Lily said, not wanting to argue. "We'll be there soon, what's the address again?"

"You'd better be, and don't come flying in on broomsticks!" Petunia snapped, hanging up the phone.

Lily put the phone back on the hook, sighing before speaking. "Okay, so Petunia is _not_ picking us up. There's an alley behind the shop, though, and I should be able to side along you guys there."

The bridesmaids shared a look, but no one argued, and Lily took her turns apparating them to muggle London under the safety of shadows. Before she brought the last bridesmaid with her James gave her a kiss and a hug, hoping that Petunia wouldn't ruin her mood.

The bell on the door rang softly as Lily, Mary, Marlene, and Alice made their way inside of the muggle shop. It was a shop that Petunia, who was melodramatically berating the group to her husband, had picked out. If the bridesmaids hadn't known before, they would have assumed by the many cookie cutter dresses, and women with tight hair and poorly faked smiles. As they looked around at the muggle attire, no one felt excitement at the bridesmaids dresses they would end up wearing.

"Tuney," Lily said, smiling brightly at the sight of her sister. "And Vernon, it's great to see you."

Petunia's gaze clearly disapproved of how fast her sister had arrive (she didn't know _how_ the younger woman had done it, but knew that she hadn't traveled by _natural_ means) and she didn't smile back. "They're waiting."

With that she stalked off, Vernon slugging behind her, assuming that the bridesmaids would follow. She led them to a small changing room where a tall, severe looking woman glared at them while she thrust dresses their way (only listening to Petunia's advice). The woman, who never introduced herself but Petunia called Jane, rolled her eyes at the wedding colors (pastel peach and green with Gryffindor gold), and mentioned repeatedly that they simply didn't have the best dresses in _peach_.

In the end, not only had they ended up with dressed that none of them liked, but Petunia had managed to ridiculously enrage every single witch she wasn't related to. As they left the store, receipts in hand to pick up their dresses in a month, Alice was amazed that Lily wasn't steaming. In fact, Lily seemed in as good a mood as any.

"Lily, how are you so calm?" Alice asked, "After Petunia-"

"-Alice, Petunia is always like that," Lily said, shrugging it off. "And those dresses are horrid, I know, but now we're one step closer to me marring James, and," she said, giving a mischevious grin that left no doubt that she was a Marauder's bride. "now I know I'll have something to laugh at."

* * *

 **Authors Note** Hello all! It's really been since last year that I updated? Oops? I will say that my own wedding planning has slowed down writing for everything. Nevertheless, here you go! I know this chapter is super short (749 words), and that is because I'm breaking chapter's out to events. I hope you enjoyed, and can't wait to do the next update!


	7. Chapter 7

**The Public Engagement Party**

Sirius was trying his best to not stare, but he was having a hard time. In his defense, he was certain that everyone else was also doing the same. It was impossible to ignore the obvious attraction her felt, and was doubting his policy that the ball for romance was in Remus' court. He'd been the last one to say something, teasing him months ago, and since, nothing. After tonight though, he wasn't exceptionally worried about his pride.

Remus had always been the tallest of the Marauders, and the fitted robes he wore only made that more true. His soft brown hair was curling lightly around his face, and Sirius was absolutely certain that his lips were legitimately begging to be kissed. Right now he was buttoning up a shirt, and Sirius wondered _why_ he needed to wear said shirt, until it was on and accentuated his lean form.

He felt his moth hanging open slightly in shock and smacked it shut, focusing on his own robes instead of oggling Remus.

Which allowed Remus to oggle him.

Remus, unlike Sirius, noticed when he was being observed. He'd felt a slight flush of pride, happy that Sirius was attracted to him. As Sirius put a tie on Remus felt an unhealthy obsession with his throat, wondering if Sirius would allow him to bite it softly before kissing down his chest and-

"Remus, Sirius," James said, walking into the livingroom of their shared flat completely dressed. Remus and Sirius, unlike Peter, didn't have dates to the night's festivities. Which meant that they were planning to all leave at the same time, and that James had to wait for them to get ready. "C'mon, I know you two hate these things, but bugger up and let's go."

"You just want to see Lily," Sirius said. "Go get her, we'll meet you at the Manor."

James didn't need to be told twice, and apparated on the spot. The two Marauder's rolled their eyes at the antics of their engaged friend and finished getting dressed. It was the time it took them to finish that Sirius used to build up his Gryffindor courage.

"Remus," Sirius said, catching his attention easily. (Sirius hadn't noticed, but Remus had had a hard time stopping the dirty daydreams that watching the blacked haired man caused.) He tried to come up with something to say, and couldn't think of anything. Instead he walked forward, and without warning, pulled Remus into a smoldering kiss.

* * *

"James is here!" Marlene announced, putting on earrings in the common room of their flat when James arrived. She smiled at James, after her earrings putting on her shoes, but didn't say anything, because he wasn't there for her.

"James," Lily said, walking out of her room completely ready. She smiled at James like seeing him was a pleasant surprise, as if he wasn't picking her up for their public engagement party. "Are you ready to go?"

He greeted her with a brief kiss, "Yep, what about you?"

Lily passed a nervous glance to the mirror above the fireplace, unsure of her appearance. She'd spent the better part of the afternoon getting ready, but she was certain that even with an eternity she wouldn't be prepared. "As much as I ever will."

"Oh shush," Marlene said, rolling her eyes at her ginger friend. "You look gorgeous- I bet 10 galleons that you get hit on, _with_ James there."

James grinned at the idea, kissing Lily on the cheek as they made their way to the floo. "You're gorgeous," He said, giving her his signature smirk/lopsided grin as he announced 'Potter Manor' and disappeared in a fit of green flame.

"C'mon, Mrs. Potter," Marlene grinned, shoving Lily into the floo and laughing as her friend shared a rather expansive swear vocabulary.

* * *

"You know, Peter, I don't think Mrs. Potter got a magical quartet so your perusing of the buffet could be more romantic," Sirius commented. Peter only grinned, enjoying the variety of delicious food that James' mum had catered for the event.

All in all, James and Lily's public engagement party was a huge success. Their private party, an event hosted at the still burnt (for Remus, Sirius, and James had decided that there was no need to repair their flat for a month, considering how likely they were to burn it again. Sirius used the same logic for setting his bed.) Marauder's flat with a significant amount of booze, had been a small but enjoyable affair soon after their engagement. An engagement party for the Potter family's many friend and acquaintances open to photographers, however, took a lot longer to plan.

Where the private party had muggle pizza and firewhiskey, the public party had ice sculptures of lions and a catered buffet to rival the likes of Hogwarts' house elves. Back at the private party, at the demand of guests, James had picked up his soon to be bride and promptly snogged her while in the safety of his own flat. Now in his childhood home, surrounded by people he barely recognized, he settled for chaste kisses. It was clearly a less _fun_ party, but James was enjoying it nonetheless.

Just as Alice had predicted, a couple of men had in fact flirted with Lily before even noticing that she was the next Mrs. Potter. He'd grinned widely each time, and each time his fiance had rolled her eyes or blushed madly. Of course, Lily's blush had always held a special place in his heart, so that reaction had only served to make him happier. He'd never enjoyed the fancy parties that his mum hosted, but that night he felt elated.

Lily, in contrast, felt on edge. Every time she spoke to someone (a high ranking ministry official, a member of the Sacred 28) she could hear her heart racing in her ears. She didn't _belong_ here, and it was glaringly obvious. Her marriage to James would, in essence, require her to attend more and more events like this- eventually plan them! She wasn't prepared for that, and she wanted more than anything else to _not_ fail James and his lovely parents. So she bit her cheek and spoke, trying hard to please everyone, and by the end of it her mouth was bleeding, her feet were killing her, and she was exhausted.

* * *

"Well, I had a brilliant time," Sirius said, causing Remus to jump out of his skin. He grinned when his skittish friend jerked, amused that he'd surprised him so.

Remus, who had thought he was alone in his room getting undressed for bed, had in fact been startled. He didn't know why he had been surprised by Sirius, he had lived with him for 7 years, but he had been. "Merlin- Sirius! What do you want?"

Remus tried to ignore the feeling of Sirius' eyes on his chest, and forced himself to look at his friend in the eyes. He raised his eyebrows after a moment of silence, waiting for Sirius to reply.

Sirius cleared his throat, unwilling to admit he had been distracted by the light trail of hair going up to Remus' belly button. " _Fuck_ Mooney," He said, unable to remember the excuse he'd given himself for sneaking into Remus' room. His eyes moved up his best friend's torso then, and Remus felt the movement with a burn on his skin. Sirius noticed the upwards movement of Remus' eyebrows when he reached his face, and knew he had to offer an actual explanation. Explanations to questions like that had been so easy in the past, but something about Mooney made him simultaneously more confident and terrified. "Merlin, I want to kiss you."

Okay, so it wasn't his best line, but it seemed to work, and Sirius determined that lame or not, success was the most important factor.

* * *

Lily let out a sigh of enjoyment as she settled into the hot tub of her and Marlene's loo. After the long engagement party she'd known she needed a bath, but it felt much better than she'd anticipated. She let her eyes flutter shut and rest her head on the edge of the basin, simply enjoying the warmth.

When the door opened she didn't move, "Marlene- I will curse you if you use the bloody restroom while I'm in the bath."

"I've never seen anyone so calm while they threatened someone," James replied with a grin, enjoying the sight of his fiance before him.

"James?" Lily asked, opening her eyes but not moving. She was surprised, though not alarmed, to see James in her loo. He'd been there before, of course, but she'd thought he would stay at his own flat that night, exhausted from the party.

"Peter's date was squeaking," He explained. "And Remus and Sirius didn't close the door. Besides, I want to celebrate!"

Lily knew exactly what he meant and grinned, "Well, for the moment I am relaxing. You can join me if you'd like."

James grinned and did just that.

* * *

 **Author's Note** Hello all! I've gone through and fixed any discrepancies in the story (ie- the chapter I deleted and some irritating phrasing in this one) and have decided that I need to force a schedule on this story. From here on out I will update every _Wednesday_ until the story is done. I started it when I was planning my own wedding, which didn't have _nearly_ the number of people attending as the Potter wedding does, and life being life moved me across the country and started me in new jobs and generally got distracting. On the bright side, with my shiny new schedule, this story will not be abandoned! **It is 9/27 and I may post another chapter today, if not expect one this coming Wednesday, 10/3**.


	8. Chapter 8

**The Wedding Dress**

"This-" Alice found herself without words. "Well, Lily, you picked it out and-"

"-It's bloody terrible, don't lie to her," Marlene said.

"It's proof that Lily should not be allowed to shop alone," Mary agreed. "How did you even get your mum to agree to pay for this monstrosity?"

"Be nice! It's for her wedding!" Alice protested, "And if Lily says it's the dress, then it's the dress."

"Well, after the horror of dress shopping I can see your point," Marlene commented.

Lily sighed. She had her dress set up on a manikin (it had only been an extra 2 pounds!) and wished that she hadn't already done a lot of work to the dress to get it where it was at that moment. "Shopping at the normal shops didn't work out, Tuney just wasn't in a good mood-"

"-Bloody cunt," Marlene muttered under her breath. Alice dropped her mouth open in shock but Mary and Lily were used to the witch's potty mouth and chose to ignore her.

"-But I found this at a thrift shop and, well, it's _gorgeous_!" Lily gushed.

Mary, who'd sat beside the others while Petunia berated and insulted Lily until she ran away from the 4th dress shop _bawling_ , wondered what the shopkeep who Lily had bought the dress from had thought. To hear Lily tell it she had found the shop while (bawling) looking for a deserted alley to apparate home from. She'd then walked into the shop (tears and all, Lily wasn't a pretty crier) and declared she wanted the moldy dress from the manikin out front.

"It's, um, a little green," Mary observed.

"Green is one of the wedding colors!" Alice said, as if defending Lily's choice of mold decorating her dress.

"Oh come off it, I know it needs to be cleaned," Lily said with a huff. "And my mum didn't pay for it, I did. It was 15 pounds."

"15 pounds for a _wedding_ dress?" Mary exclaimed, shocked.

"How much is that?" Alice asked, confused. She'd never really caught on to muggle money, but she had a feeling it wasn't much based on the blunt reactions of the others.

"It's 5 galleons," Marlene explained. "Approximately. Which, for a wedding dress isn't much but what Lily bought doesn't really count as a wedding dress."

Lily walked over to the dress and smiled, wishing everyone could see it like she did. Yes, it was an older style and the dress itself was in bad shape. It was dirty and a little moldy and had a lot of the pearl details missing but they had _magic_. It was a little big but that was easy to fix. The dress had good bones. It had a pretty V neckline, sleeves that fitted about halfway down her bicep and then flared out, and pretty lace and silk ribbon detail throughout. This was _the_ dress, she was sure.

"I know you don't like it, I know you can't see it," Lily said. "But _I_ can, and I'm telling you, this dress just needs some love."

Alice felt Lily's eyes on her and sighed, "Why're you looking at me?"

"Because you're the best at clothing alterations!" Mary exclaimed. "I do hair and makeup, Lily knows the charms to stop nip slips and stains, Marlene scares away irritating people, and you do the clothing alterations."

Lily gave Alice a pleading smile, "I can do it but it's my _wedding dress_ and you're so much better than I am."

"Okay, okay," Alice said, regretting her summer jobs at the _Magical Seamstress_. She focused on the dress, "Let's get the mold and dirt out." She waved her wand and smiled at the work. Without dirt it was easy to see that the dress was a pretty cream, not a stark white. With Lily's pale complexion and bright red hair it would be gorgeous. "And a simple repair spell... _reparo!_ " As she waved her wand around the dress began to fix the ripped lace and loose pearls.

Everyone gasped at the changes two spells had made. The dress was no longer limp and lifeless, as Alice's cleaning charm had essentially dry cleaned it. The tears brought it back to its original shape as well, something that only Lily had been able to see before. They also noticed now that the dress was just a little sheer at the waist and hem of the bust. It would show off Lily's porcelain skin without being revealing. After hearing James' rant on the last late, drunk night at Hogwarts about how Lily's _skin_ (not her smile or legs or breasts, or anything else you would expect from a man) was her best quality everyone agreed it was a nice touch.

"That... did not require as much work as I thought it would," Marlene said.

Lily smirked, much like her future husband did, with pride. "I _told_ you. We still need to do more, I'd love to get an anti-sweat charm on it and water and stain repellent, and then Alice can you help me put in a bra charm? I _hate_ bras and can't imagine being so uncomfortable at the wedding but it might be too much like neglige without it."

"I can do that, no problem," Alice said. "Merlin, Lily, how did you know?"

"The same way she knew about James," Mary said. "She always finds the diamond in the rough."

Lily smiled, ready then to send a 'before' picture to her mum. (If she'd sent the _actual_ before picture her mum would have had a heart attack.) This dress was a lot like James- gorgeous inside and out.

* * *

 **Author's Note** 15 pounds in 1979 is worth about £73.71 in 2018, which is $96.68 ish USD. Imagine getting a wedding dress for $100! Well, maybe Lily's dress is worth a little less than that... I hope everyone is enjoying, I put way too much time into historical accuracy. I just spent almost an hour accounting for inflation for the costs of the dress and the costs for the caterer (no need to re-read, just know it costs monaayyyyy).  
If you want to see a much cleaner version of Lily's wedding dress, check out the link on my profile. I tried my best to find a dress common to 1979 English weddings that I also liked.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Photographer**

Remus woke up first. It was a well known fact of the Marauders' flat, and even back in their small dorm room at Hogwarts he had always been the first to rise. Back in Hogwarts Peter had always been the second to wake, and he and Remus would enjoy a relatively calm conversation without the boisterous and almost terrifying energy that Sirius and James had. Of course, now that Peter was living with his sick mother and only came to the flat when he visited or wanted privacy with a girl from his mum (he often stole another's room to do so) Remus spent his mornings alone or, when Sirius woke up, with Sirius.

On this such morning, about 2 months before the Potter Evans wedding, Sirius had gotten up and Remus was quite enjoying sipping his coffee and talking to his long time mate. The sentiment was, of course, shared.

"So, who are you taking to James' wedding?" Sirius asked casually while he ate the muggle cereal that Lily had gotten him hooked on. He was glad that his intentionally mundane tone had prevented Remus from being spooked.

"Oh, uh, no one, at the moment," Remus answered without thought. He couldn't think of anyone he wanted to go with, outside of Sirius that was.

"Okay, I'll go with you," Sirius said with a wolfish grin. It was then that Remus realized he'd spoken the second part aloud.

"Oh, well, good," Remus said. He struggled to act as if he'd intended to speak aloud, and Sirius had the decency to let it go. "We'll already be matching, so I suppose we don't need to worry about that."

"So pragmatic," Sirius teased.

"If you two are going together you'd better let Lily know that you won't need your plus ones." James said half through a yawn. If they hadn't known him since they were 11 they would have had no idea what he was saying, his words garbled as they were.

"Why're you up so early?" Remus asked, "it's not even 10 yet."

"Bloody photographer," James said. "We're meeting at 9, Lily should be over in a minute and if she asked I've been up for-" He paused to make another big yawn. "-At least an hour."

Sirius and Remus took in James' appearance; wrinkled pajamas and hair as if he had been electrocuted. His face still had the folded marks of his pillow intended on it and his eyes were still heavy and sleepy.

"I doubt she will believe us," Sirius said. "When are you two leaving anyway?"

"She wanted to floo to Diagon Alley at 8:45," James said with another big yawn. He paused to look at his watch, taking a moment longer than usual to read it due to his sleepy haze. "Bloody hell! It's already 8:40!"

"And Marlene was right, I shouldn't have come early," Lily said from the area in front of the fireplace. She patted the dust off of her white high waisted jeans and green halter top. Despite the apparent irritation in her tone she smiled at her future husband and gave him a chaste kiss.

"I'll be ready in five minutes, promise," James said before turning back to his room.

Lily shook her head, getting ready in the morning took her nearly an hour and James would probably look better in five minutes of searching through the (maybe) clean clothes on his floor. "How are you two?"

"Well," Remus answered. "We won't need our plus ones, by the way."

"Oh? Okay," Lily said. "Would you mind sending me an owl? I can't possibly keep up and you still need to fill out your meal cards."

"Will do," Remus answered again. Sirius was still too busy eating his food. "Please don't mind the dog, we just can't seem to keep him off the table."

Lily nodded as if Remus were talking about a real dog and not Sirius. "Snuffles! Down!"

Sirius, in return, changed into his animagus form immediately and rushed at Lily. Causing her to fall down with a loud crash and girlish laughter. Once standing over her, front paws on her shoulders, he began to lick her face mercilessly.

"Sirius!" She laughed, "Gross, Sirius! Get off!"

James walked in then, as Lily predicted he looked as attractive as ever, to see his fiance trying to shove his best friend off of her. He laughed at the sight, but he wasn't truly laughing until Remus spoke.

"Snuffles got out," He said casually, flipping through the daily prophet.

* * *

"Our mid grade package is 100 Galleons and it is what most people go with," Kelly spoke to them with a variety of pages explaining the different packages on the desk in front of her. "It includes 100 developed pictures of the wedding, usually split about 60/40 between staged and candid. We will also develop 125 pictures into thank you cards that you can send to your guests and a second copy of up to 30 pictures to give out to close family."

"What about muggle family?" Lily asked, happy with the package coverage but wanting to ensure that her mum and dad would have pictures to show off if they wanted to. James sat next to her trying his best not to be bored but, honestly, he could give a rats arse about the photography.

"We can develop any percentage you want of the developed photos into muggle stills." Kelly said with confidence. "We also have an option with our larger prints to have them appear as stills to muggles but retain the motion for witches, wizards, and squibs. That way you can have muggle family over without clearing your home of all your wedding photos."

"Oh, I like that," Lily said.

Kelly smiled, "A lot of muggle borns do. My parents are muggles and they know about magic but my extended family does not, I know exactly how complicated it can be with the statute of secrecy. Thankfully, the process of taking pictures is much the same in both worlds so it's easy for my team and I to blend in on the day of."

"I'm glad, my sister is terrified of magic and it would be a hazard if she noticed anything out of the ordinary," Lily said. James looked up at Kelly then, making sure that she didn't say anything to make Lily uncomfortable. Kelly continued on without concern, having more tact than James gave her credit for.

"Well that won't be a problem." She said with a smile. "So, on the day of, will you be getting ready at the venue?"

"There is a house across the street we will be getting ready in." Lily said, smiling proudly. "James set it up, it's gorgeous."

"So would you like to take getting ready pictures or would you like to have me later in the reception?" Kelly asked. "Usually I will get there an hour before and leave after the cake cutting, but occasionally I get a bride who would prefer have pictures all through the reception."

James and Lily shared a look, both of them thinking what the Marauders would have done to the wedding by the end of the night. James in particular, because he knew that when the wedding ended they were more than welcome to continue to party as late as they wanted.

"Let's do the hour early," Lily said abruptly.

Kelly nodded and gave them a knowing grin, "I'm sure the Marauders will be a sight to see."

"You know about us?" James asked, feeling the same surge of pride he felt any time someone referred to his band of mates with the name they'd made up late one night in first year while riding a sugar high. Lily only rolled her eyes and smiled, popular or not James and his friends were a bunch of lame nerds sometimes.

"Of course, I was only a few years above you," Kelly said. "Hufflepuff class of '74."

Lily smiled, "Well, then you're actually prepared for the havoc James and his mates can cause. I'm surprised you're still willing to work for us!"

Kelly and Lily shared a laugh. "Well, of course," Kelly said. "Seeing the infamous James Potter, leader of the Hogwarts pranksters, host a wedding? I wouldn't miss it!"

* * *

 **Author's Note** Your average photography package in the United States right now is about $2,000. In pounds that is £1533.91 (2018) which is about £280.4 in 1979. Which converts to 93 Galleons and 24 Knuts. I rounded up to 100 Galleons for two reasons. 1) Photographers usually have their packages set to even and easy numbers, so it's likely that they wouldn't have a "93 Galleons and 24 Knuts Package". 2) As per usual they are paying a premium to have vendors that are compatible with both magical and muggle guests. I hope you guys are enjoying the historical accuracy of the finances because I am spending _way too much time_ ensuring they make sense. lol.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Officiant**

Lily Evans and James Potter felt _very_ different things about being in their old Headmaster's office. Lily Evans; head girl, prefect, top witch in her grade, and all around exemplary student didn't _break_ rules. She was proud to say that she had never, ever gotten detention nor had she failed a single assignment. (Except flying, but she didn't count that, it wasn't even really a class anyway.) All of her memories in the headmasters office were positive ones, and yet she felt overwhelmingly nervous. How could she ask a favor from the man that won the last wizarding war? He was an important man! He had better things to do.

James Potter was head boy of his year and yet he was far from an 'exemplary' student, at least in the way Lily was. He had broken the record for how quickly someone managed to get detention after arriving at Hogwarts. He had ignored the rules with such abandon that he had broken into the restricted section to make a map to help him break further rules. Not to mention that it wasn't only school rules he had broken. James had broken _laws_ while a student at Hogwarts. He had been in the Headmaster's office many, many times late at night after being caught break some rule or law. Yet he didn't feel nervous at all. Dumbledore was a kind and generous man and if he didn't have time for them he would just say so. No harm, no foul.

If only he could convince Lily of that, so she would stop bouncing her leg so vigorously. The vibrations were driving him nuts, but he knew that trying to force her leg down wouldn't solve a single thing. "Lily, dear, you're shaking the castle."

Lily bit her lip, "I'm _nervous_." She whispered. "I mean, it's _Dumbledore_ , why are we even asking him?"

"Because who else would we ask?" James said, "Honestly, he's perfect. Now calm down, you're irritating the bird."

Lily looked over at Fawkes the phoenix and noticed that he was, in fact, irritated. She tried to stop her leg but couldn't. Thankfully, Dumbledore came into the office then and didn't seem bothered by Fawks' mood.

"Oh, don't mind him," Dumbledore said. "He always gets like this in the last week or two. Now, how can I help you two?"

"Uh, professor, we were wondering, um," Lily couldn't stop stumbling over her words. "Well-"

"-Would you officiate our wedding?" James asked for her, resting a hand on hers to _calm her down_. Honestly, how was she this panicked? He realized then that her obvious fear of the Headmaster was _probably_ why she had been so vigilant about never breaking rules as a student.

"I know you were invited as a guest, and obviously, sir, if you would not like to you're still _more than_ welcome to attend." Lily rushed through. "I know you're _very_ busy."

"Lil, love," James said softly. Her rambling was kind of manic and she was going to scare the greatest wizard of their time. "I fell in love with her here, at Hogwarts, so we can't think of anyone better to officiate."

Albus Dumbledore smiled, his eyes gaining a twinkle. (Little known fact, the twinkle in Dumbeldore's eyes is gained from beautiful moments like these. He'd gained _five_ when he pardoned the Marauders for the prank that had finally gotten Lily to go out with James. Lily had been the one to vouch for them.) "I would _love_ to," He said. "Do you have any preferences on what I say?"

"The traditional vows include a part where I _obey_ ," Lily said. "We would prefer you not say that part."

Dumbledore wasn't surprised in the slightest. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Other than that we want to use the traditional vows," James said. "We're getting married in a church, and they're the vows both of our families have used for a long time."

"That sounds wonderful," Dumbledore said. "If you can send the vows by owl-"

"-Of _course_ ," Lily said. After a moment she looked scandalized that she had cut him off. "I am so-"

James tapped her leg to calm her down and she stopped what she was saying and settled for an apologetic smile. Determining that she was going to make a bloody fool of herself if they didn't leave soon, James stood.

"Well, Headmaster, thank you so much for meeting with us." He said, pulling Lily up as well. "We will see you at the rehearsal."

Dumbledore smiled and watched them leave, glad that two of his best students had managed to find love in this crazy world. It wasn't even two hours later when he received the owl from Lily with their vows.

 _Dear Headmaster Albus Wulfric Brian Dumbledore,_

 _Thank you again for agreeing to officiate our wedding. We cannot imagine a single wizard better to fill the role. I have attached the vows to this letter. We will see you at the next Order meeting._

 _Love,_

 _Lily Evans_.

* * *

 _We are gathered here today in the sight of God and angels, and the presence of friends and loved ones, to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words which shall unite James Potter and Lily Evans in holy matrimony._

 _Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage, they must speak now or forever hold their peace._

 _James and Lily, life is given to each of us as individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is give to us by our family and friends. We learn to love by being loved. Learning to love and living together is one of life's greatest challenges and is the shared goal of a married life._

 _We are gathered here today in the sight of God and angels, and the presence of friends and loved ones, to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes and blessings to the words which shall unite James Potter and Lily Evans in holy matrimony._

 _Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage, they must speak now or forever hold their peace._

 _James and Lily, life is given to each of us as individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is give to us by our family and friends. We learn to love by being loved. Learning to love and living together is one of life's greatest challenges and is the shared goal of a married life._

 _Would you please face each other and join hands._

 _James do you take Lily to be your wife?_

 _Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only to her forevermore?_

 _("I do")_

 _Lily do you take James to be your Husband?_

 _Do you promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only to him forevermore?_

 _("I do")_

 _James and Lily in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and wife._

 _I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Potter._


	11. Chapter 11

**The Flowers**

Sirius, in all of his days, could not have guessed what would become of his best friend when he got engaged. He never, in his wildest dreams or worst nightmares, would have predicted that James Potter would be _excited_ to plan a damn wedding.

"Chill out mate, you're acting like a bird," Sirius exclaimed. James had asked for help repairing the fireplace and getting it connected to the floo network. What James hadn't given Sirius a choice on was topic of conversation. He and Lily were meeting the florist they had chosen in not too long across the street at the church they would marry in. For starters. The day also included a meeting with a bakery, a jeweler, and then end with the two of them going over the many, many things they needed to review. "If that was the plan for my day I'd avada myself."

James rolled his eyes while he continued deep-cleaning each individual brick in the fireplace, as they were so disgusting that they needed such focus. "I'm marrying _Lily Evans_ , Padfoot."

"You're _becoming_ Lily," Sirius said. "You're losing your manliness!"

"Oi! You take that back!" James snapped, "I'm a man!"

"You're excited about bleeding flowers!" Sirius exclaimed. "And you just talked for 20 minutes about icing!"

"Hah! I wasn't talking about _icing_ I was talking about _fondant_!" James was proud for a moment before realization hit him. "Bloody hell, I'm a bird."

Sirius put his hand on his mate's shoulder, "You hear 'bout the Cannon's? The actually managed to win a match." James looked up at Sirius with tears in his eyes, and Sirius felt bad. "Look, mate, I'm sorry but we can fix this- we can get your manhood back-"

Suddenly the tears disappeared and James' entire body shook with laughter. "Oh- oh Merlin. You really believed me!"

"What-"

"Sirius, I'm about to spend _every single_ night with my woman, who is taking my name and joining my family. What about that _isn't_ manly?" He asked, "Honestly, your aversion to all of this is childish."

"I'm not a child!" Sirius protested, "You're the bloody weirdo getting married young!"

"If dating is a game then I'm _winning_ ," James continued, not concerned with his friend's protests. "But- ah bloody hell I'm late. We'll argue 'bout this later." He walked over to the stairs and yelled up to Remus and Peter, who were working on the windows. "BYE!"

He left the house with a chorus of 'see ya' and 'bye' surrounding him, glad when he noticed Lily but she didn't notice him. The house was supposed to be a surprise after all, they hadn't done the privacy charms on the windows last week for nothing. She stood in a pretty floral dress and denim jacket, talking to a woman that he supposed was their florist. He couldn't help but take a moment to admire her, her red hair was down and she kept pushing it back behind her ears while she looked at a clipboard that the florist referenced. Suddenly he was back in Hogwarts, watching her take notes even in Binns' class.

"...my fiance gets here we can go over it in more detail but our budget is tight so I don't believe we're going to have a lot of flowers." Lily said, once again feeling pressured. The weight of the wedding was bearing down on her. She made barely 230 galleons a month and their wedding was nearly a thousand!

"Don't worry about it, darling," Gretchen said. She smiled warmly at the young bride, "We can work something out. Oh- hello! You must be the fiance, I'm Gretchen."

James smiled easily, glad to realize that he didn't recognise the woman because he hadn't met her. He put his hand out and accepted her shake. "Wonderful to meet you."

Lily vaguely wondered if James really, truly, couldn't help but charm women or if he was hoping for a discount. With his arm wrapped around her she couldn't find it within herself to care too much either way. His grip on her didn't fall as Gretchen lead them into the church.

"Well, as far as churches go, this one is gorgeous," Gretchen said with a wide smile. "You can absolutely get away with a minimal look in here, what were you two thinking?"

"Lilies," James said immediately.

"James, no, that's so tacky," Lily protested. "And _obvious_."

"Are the wedding decorations supposed to be a surprise?" James asked, "Lil, they're gorgeous."

"They're _okay_ ," Lily emphasized. "I was thinking more carnations, maybe some peach colored roses but I know those are expensive..." She took a deep breath and James worried about her. Why was she so stressed? This was a wedding! It was exciting!

"Let's save the roses for your bouquet," Gretchen said. "And use them for centerpieces along with white gypsophila and maybe some mums?"

James looked at the photographs Gretchen had flipped to on her clipboard. "Those look nice, but I really want some lilies."

"What about for the men's boutonnieres?" Gretchen offered. James looked over at Lily, who sighed.

"Fine," She agreed. "We'll have to include some on the table center pieces though, so they don't look out of place."

"Absolutely," Gretchen said. "So for the ceremony you'll have bouquets for the bridal party and boutonnieres for the grooms, will you want anything else?"

"We'll need flower petals for the flower girl," Lily said.

"Of course, what color were you thinking?" Gretchen asked, pausing her efforts to fill out the order form.

Lily frowned while she thought, "It needs to be normal enough that muggles don't question it. Are there peach roses?"

"There are," Gretchen said. "But ours are charmed not to get destroyed when people walk on them, so they're still a slight different from muggle roses. In fact, all of our flowers have preserving and fragrance charms on them."

"That shouldn't be a problem, right?" James said, checking with Lily. She knew muggles better than him, after all.

"Not so long as the scents are natural floral scents," Lily said.

"Wonderful, if that is all you would like for the ceremony let's head over to my office to go over the centerpieces," Gretchen said, reaching both of her hands out to take them side along with her.

Every auror instinct told James _not_ to apparate with the overly pleasant woman he'd just met but thankfully Lily had other protests, "How much is the total at now?"

Gretchen's positive exterior fell, almost, for just a moment and she looked at the order sheet. "For what we've gone over so far, no centerpieces or bouquets for the guest book table or anything like that, we're just at 25 galleons."

James wasn't worried about budget much, other than the food so far everything had been well within reason. Not to mention that his mum and dad insisting on inviting all of their 'important' business partners and friends was exactly why the food cost so much. Fighting them, constantly telling them they weren't going to pay for the wedding, was a frustration he was sick of going through. That said, he knew Lily was stressed about the budget and by the way that her smile grew fake he knew that 25 galleons was probably at the max of her budget.

"Let's stick with this, then," James said. "The reception is in a garden anyway, there's plenty of flowers there."

Okay, that was a lie, the backyard of the house was an absolute mess but he and his mates could fix it up. Then there would be one less thing to bother with and, now that he thought about it, Frank would probably help them out.

Lily beamed at him, "Yes, it is very lovely."

"Of course, well, if you two will just sign here," Gretchen said, clearly disappointed by the small size of the order. "They'll be ready for you to pick up three days before."

The future Potter family signed the paper and Gretchen apparated away, clearly upset. Lily and James couldn't find it within themselves to care. With the flowers dealt with they were one step closer to the wedding.

"To cake!" James announced, making Lily smile wide.

"Yes," Lily said. "To cake!"

* * *

 **Author's Note** Hello all! We've got a lot of fun chapters left. I realize that they aren't all in the best order so I'm just gonna say that ' _~magic~_ ' is why. xD As far as the flowers cost. 25 Galleons is £75.34 which in 2018 is £362.25 and then $475.77. Average cost for wedding flowers is $700-$1,200, and they did get a lot of flowers (fair sized wedding party and all), but I decided to lower it because there aren't centerpieces or extra bouquets or anything. And, finally, just a reminder that this is a pastel peach, green, and gold wedding.


	12. Chapter 12

**The Wedding Cake**

"Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!" James chanted excitedly as he and Lily walked through Diagon Alley towards the cake shop. He held hands with her and swung their arms energetically, the action making it hard for Lily to lecture him simply because she was laughing so hard.

"James," Lily said, trying to get his attention.

"Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!"

"James!" Lily stopped walking, the action jerking the overly energetic Potter back. "We're here."

"Caaaaaaaaake!" James grinned handsomely and Lily did her best to roll her eyes and not be amused by his antics.

"Are you sure you're alright to eat cake?" Lily asked as they walked in, "I think you've had enough sugar." James pouted rather dramatically but Lily ignored him and spoke to the receptionist. "We have an initial meeting with the baker today? Potter wedding?"

"Oh, yes, just take a seat and our head baker will be out in a moment." Lily nodded to the receptionist and led James over to a cute but not overly comfortable couch.

"James, seriously, this is the best baker in London." Lily whispered, "I have no idea why she agreed to meet us or how we'll possibly afford it... oh merlin, I never should have set this up."

"Calm down, Lily," James said. He lost his childish demeanor for a little bit, wishing that Lily wasn't so stressed. He knew quitting the aurors and working for the Order full time had been the right decision but it was times like these that he wondered if he should have stayed if only for the income. "Worst case we get to try a lot of cake, it's okay."

Lily nodded, doing her best to remind herself that this was fun and she didn't need to stress so much.

"Ms. Evans? Mr. Potter?" A tall woman with light brown hair and smile lines on her face asked for them and Lily recognized her immediately.

"Oh, yes, thank you so much for meeting with us Mrs. Bayers." Lily said while James struggled to place the woman. Something about her was familiar, but he just assumed he'd seen her in The Prophet or something.

"Please, call me Claire," She said.

"Then you call me James," James said with a charming smile.

"And Lily," Lily said.

"Of course," Claire said. "Now follow me, we've got a tray of cake and then we'll look at icing and fondant and then design."

The recent Hogwarts graduates let Claire lead them into the bakery in the back. For a shop that was as popular at it was it was fairly small, and hot. They sat down at a wooden island in the middle with a silver tray of 10 or so cake flavors resting on it.

"Sorry about the heat, when you've got four ovens baking it can heat up real fast." Claire said as she sat across from them at the island. "Now, do you have a preference on the cake flavor?"

"Chocolate," Lily said immediately, making James and Claire laugh at her enthusiasm. "Sorry, I know that it's not a typical wedding cake flavor but it's my favorite."

"I get loads of requests for chocolate, you're not alone," Claire said. "This is our chocolate here," She gestured to a piece of chocolate cake and James and Lily immediately tried it. After their hums of approval Claire continued, "I take it you like the chocolate?"

James nodded vigorously, "It's delicious. That should be the whole cake."

"I couldn't agree more," Lily said.

"Fantastic," Claire said with a wide smile. "Now, for icing, we can do a simple buttercream or we can do a fruit flavor like strawberry or lemon."

"What do you think?" Lily asked James, the both of them trying cakes with fruit icing just to taste it.

"This orange icing is amazing," James said.

"Yum," Lily agreed, smiling because she'd been hoping that James would say that.

"So orange it is," Claire said. "Do you want a fondant covering?"

Lily looked at James, who wasn't 100% sure what fondant was, before speaking to Claire. "I think so, it just looks better. I don't want it to be too simple though."

"Of course," Claire agreed. "I can do piping work on top of the fondant." She reached to a stack of books on the edge of the island and grabbed a scrapbook from the middle. Once opened she turned it so that Lily and James could see the magical images of the cakes she had done in the past.

To put it simple, they were gorgeous. Artwork in the form of food. Designs ranged from simple yet stunning to gorgeously intricate. Real and candy flowers graced many of them, but others didn't need the additional garnishment. Heartfelt patterns graced every tier of cake. This wasn't to mention the many, many cakes that obviously had magic involved. Tiers that hovered, icing designs that moved, and flowers that began as pretty little buds and bloomed expertly.

James' jaw was down in shock, he had no idea that cake could also be so beautiful. Lily smiled at him warmly, "I told you she was the best." James nodded dumbly and Lily refocused her attention on Claire. "Unfortunately we can't do any of the designs with obvious magic, I'm muggleborn and my extended family doesn't know about magic."

"That's no problem," Claire said. "The cake will still be a little different than muggle cakes, I won't need to add any wooden dowels for support, but it's nothing obvious."

"Okay," Lily said with a nod. "And as far as the design... I think James and I both agree that your piping work is gorgeous but we'll never be able to afford that level of detail. It will probably be best to go with something simple."

"We can go simple if you want but don't worry about the cost," Claire said.

Lily grimaced, feeling uncomfortable. "Unfortunately we have to, our budget is rather tight-"

"-No, I'm sorry Lily, but I mean that you won't be paying for the cake," Claire said simply. She smiled brightly as she continued, surprising Lily and James when tears began to form in her eyes. "You saved my son a few months ago in an attack on Hogsmead, if it weren't for you two You-Know-Who and those death eaters would have killed him. I've been struggling to find a way to thank you, I know a cake is nothing compared to the life of my son, but when I saw your request for a meeting I knew it was the least I could do."

Lily was shocked beyond question and so James, who did not enjoy the memory of the second time he and Lily had found themselves with bad enough luck to run into Lord Moldyshorts, was forced to speak up. "I'm glad that your son is okay, and thank you so much for this. Lil has been stressing about the budget so much."

Claire wiped her eyes and smiled. "Well, don't worry about it, let's design your dream cake shall we?"

Lily nodded her head dumbly, surprised by Claire's generosity. She had never stopped to think about the people she and James had saved, the people she had saved. She'd done it because it was the right thing to do, because when she and James had been walking Hogsmead shortly after getting engaged she had run straight into the danger without even checking that he was doing the same.

"So, on the form Lily said you're having a fairly large wedding, I recommend a bigger three tier cake." Claire said, "And if you like the intricate pipe work we can do that. Would you like any flowers?"

"Um," Lily said, trying to shake herself out of the shock. "I really like the ones without, they're... pretty."

She felt insanely stupid for simply saying pretty but James distracted her from her shame by agreeing. "Yeah, and we're having the wedding in a garden that the owner is adding flowers and such to."

"A garden wedding, how sweet," Claire said. "So, of the pipework cakes you see here which is your favorite."

James and Lily looked at the pictures, and James noticed how she kept flipping back to a picture with a lot of lace like detail. It wasn't something he would choose, but he could tell that she adored it and knew he'd go with whatever she liked.

"What about that one?" He asked, pointing to the picture that Lily had not so subtly been obsessing on. Lily smiled widely, her smile far more gorgeous than the cake, and James knew he had made the right choice.

"Oh, good choice, that is one of my favorites," Claire said. "Do you want those colors?"

"Um, not really," Lily said, as if worried she would insult Claire. "Sorry, it's just that James here would kill me if I chose a pink like that. Our colors are pastel peach, gold, and green."

"Ah, why don't we stick to the peach and gold then," Claire said. She reached for another scrap book with swatches of colors on it. "We can do a really light peach, almost white, for the fondant and then the pipe work can be done in white with some gold accents."

"That sounds gorgeous," Lily said. She turned to James, not wanting to make all of the decisions, "What do you think?"

"As long as it tastes good, I really don't care," He said. "Whatever you want."

"Ah, smart man," Claire teased. She grabbed a scrap piece of paper then and sketched out a design for the cake, copying over the peach and gold colors from the swatches. James and Lily both watched her with interest. When she was done she turned the design around to them. "What do you think of this?"

"It's perfect," Lily said, James nodding beside her.

"Lovely, I'll make sure it is delivered on the day of to your reception site." Claire said. "Our trays are charmed so that the icing doesn't melt or anything so it can sit for a while."

"Fantastic," James said.

Lily nodded, "I can't thank you enough for this. It's- it's just wonderful."

Claire shook her head, "You saved my boy, it's my pleasure."

* * *

 **Author's Note** The average cost of a wedding cake in the US is $450, or £347.97. The value change means that the average wedding cake was £70.81 in 1979. That converted to magical money is 23 Galleons 8 Sickles 14 Knuts. Mrs. Bayers makes highly specialized cakes though so the cake she is gifting is likely more than that. I included that because I don't believe that the times they 'thrice defied him' were for nothing, and I wanted to include that they are in a war without the darkness.

 _ **Also-**_ I am going to visit my in laws next week and likely won't update on Wednesday, October 31st. I will try to post the Tuesday before but it might just be a week of no update. Sorry all, but none of you are as cute as my niece and nephew in Halloween costumes


	13. Chapter 13

**The Garden**

James was stressed, there was no other way to put it. The wedding was in a week and he still wasn't done with the house or the tuxes. The tuxes had turned out more complicated than he'd anticipated, other than the floo at Lily's flat he hadn't worked with magic designed to be hidden from muggles before. It was a challenging branch to magic, and he didn't have a muggle to test any of it on.

He and his mates had been working hard on the house, knowing that it had to be completely done in six days for the rehearsal dinner. Ready to live in, ready to host a wedding in, and ready to spend the night in. The problem was that repairing a house that had been in that much disrepair, including some war-standard protections that some might consider overkill, took a lot of time even from the experts. He wasn't an expert, neither were his friends, and there was only so much time they could dedicate to it. They were still working for the Order, and Peter's mother had taken a turn for the worst so he had been noticeably absent as of late.

"James!" Frank Longbottom, James' friend who had agreed to help with the garden, yelled out to his friend when he arrived. The two men walked up to each other and shook hands. "Sorry I hadn't come sooner, with the wedding plans..."

"I get it," James said, also busy with wedding plans. "Thanks for helping."

"Of course," Frank said with a smile that showed off his chipped tooth. "So," He said, turning to open a trunk he'd brought with him. "I used the galleons you gave me and I actually got a great deal. This garden is huge, but there should be more than enough here."

While he spoke Frank grabbed potted plant after potted plant out of what appeared to be a limitless trunk. James watched in awe. The plants were gorgeous and Frank had thought of everything. Flowering bushes, trees, plenty of greenery, and vine like plants.

"So, I know you said you weren't doing centerpieces," Frank said, starting to pull out a bunch of beautiful, white flowers overflowing from small pots. "But these are special. They repel bugs like muggle citronella, they spell fantastic, and I already spent your galleons on them so it'd be a waste to not use them."

James laughed, "Those are great. How can I help?"

"Stay out of the way," Frank said. It was clear he was scandalized at the thought of someone else working with the mini-botanical garden he had brought with him. "I've got a lot to do, because the grass in this yard is..."

James kicked his feet and looked at the messy grass. When he'd shown Lily the place, she'd been in awe, which made him a little defensive. "It's not that bad."

"James, I know you're not into plants like me, but this yard needs some serious help," Frank said frankly.

"And that's why I'm here," Sirius popped out of nowhere with a wolfish grin. James laughed and Frank rolled his eyes.

"I was just telling James here that I just need you mates out of my way." Frank said. "Stay out of the yard for the day and I'll have it done as soon as I can."

James nodded, once more feeling the pressure of time.

"It'll be fine, don't worry," Frank said with a knowing smile. "If I didn't get this done Alice would have my guts for garters."

"Sexy," Sirius replied. A wolfish grin graced his face, he was happy Frank could get this done for James. "Come on Prongs, we've got a house to finish."

James nodded and followed. So much to do, so little time, and so much riding on it.


End file.
